War... When and what for?

In my last blog I wrote about war in a negative aspect. Sometimes war is necessary especially when we are protecting those who cannot protect themselves. When Nazi Germany brutally exterminated millions of Jews, ethnic cleansing in of Serbs; and other atrocities like that it is worse for us to not do anything. When Christians stand-by and do nothing evil prevails. Is the war in Iraq good? I don't know. I know the evils of Saddam Hussein and his regime, and about the hundreds of thousands he has had exterminated. If we went to war for that, why haven't we done the same for places Rwanda? Was it for WMD's, is so what about North Korea and Iran. Was it for oil or personal vendetta? I certainly hope not. I don't know for certain the motives of our president, but I will not judge him. I will support him and his decisions and trust that he will do what is right. What I do know is that I don't want to be president. I dont know if I could handle the criticisms, pressures, and all the advice both good and bad. Am I a democrat MOST DEFINITELY not! Am I a Republican I don't know about that either. What I do know is that I am a Christian and I will support what I think is right. The life of all children born and unborn, helping those that are unfortunate, equality among all, and the freedom to believe, speak, and live the way I want to.

We are missing something

Jesus said, The greatest commandment is love the Lord your God with all you heart and second love you neighbor. There is a reason that He said it like that, because for most of us "Christians" we see the sin of others and ourselves, and are willing to condemn them for fornication, murder and other deeds of sin. We often forget that while condemning them we are committing the greatest sin and not loving. By God's definition love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (1 Corinthians 13:5-8) Yet we condone capital punishment, go to war and do the darkest of things in the name of God. How wrong are we!!! Lets remove the hatred in our lives. Share Gods love the right way, not by force! It is one thing to share the truth with someone and it is something completely else to beat them over the head with it.

Vacuums suck!

My wife really wants one of these things. It is a Dyson and according to them it never stops sucking. I mean it never loses suction. Well I dont know about that because eventually the motor inside has to wear down. Anyways my wife is trying to convince me that we REALLY need one of these. I agree that the vacuum that we have is pretty sucky or should I say not sucky. Anyhow it is prolly about time to replace it seeing how it was the vacuum that I had when I moved in to my dorm room for the first time some 8 years ago. I paid a couple of hundred dollars for it then which equates to about $25 a year not bad. However the one my wife wants is the Dyson DC14 Animal vac that is supposedly the best at picking up pet hair plus it cleans hard wood floors which our old vac doesnt. But at $549.99 we would have to have this vacuum for about 22 years in order to get the value I did out of my last one. Is it really worth it, I dunno. I have been watching ebay and looking around to see if I can find it cheap. but all I am finding is refurbished. I dont think we need it but we'll see.

Friendship is a Rare Commodity

Why do we fall apart? Why do our friendships fade? It makes me sad to think about the friendships that I have lost. How do we go from one day sharing with someone are thoughts, concerns, joys and fears to not being able to even say hello?
As we prepare for the arrival of our first child I started to think about the people I will call when the bundle of joy arrives. Of course I will call family like my mom, dad, sisters, and extended, but what about my friends. As I thought about that I realized that through the hustle and bustle of life I have neglected relationships that I have truly valued and now I feel guilty to even call about the arrival of my son. If I had only listen to the message of the letter to the Hebrews “25Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:25) However I have let it become a habit of my life to ignore one of the things I am called to hold dear, Fellowship.
I write this thinking about one friend or I should say an old friend. I am sad to think about the close bonds we once shared. The laughter, the dreams and even the tears we have had together. I feel guilty about the loss. I desire to pick up the phone and call but I am afraid it is too little too late. Is it my job that pulled me away? Or maybe my family? Or is it something else? Most likely it is just me. I cannot even make the friendships I have in town valuable. I know the priorities in my life should be God-Family-Friends-Work but I too often put Work-Family-God-Friends. The sad part about that is that I am a Youth minister my work is for the kingdom of God yet I still neglect my personal relationship with God and horribly neglect my relationships with my friends. To top it all off I know I am not the husband I need to be to my wife. I just pray I will be a better father then I am a follower, husband, friend, and minister.
Lord, today I pray for restored relationships and for the building of stronger ones. I ask you to make me a father in the image of the Holy Father. I ask to be more like you and less like me. Lord, hear my prayer. Amen!